Статьи на эту темуНевероятный T-bird-гассер (чать 1)
Direct competitors from Chevrolet with its no less a status Corvette frankly ahead «fordovtsy», beginning to sell it in 1953.
Ford had to catch up. Having released at the end of 1954 on sale direct competitor to the Corvette, namely double European-style small gig, they had to cast over its advertising supply trends.
Marketers Ford and came up with this move — position Thunderbird is not like a sports car, as well as the personal, which almost immediately learn important «console» — a luxury. However, they are not cunning, the car really was originally directed not only to self-host (or hostess, on which the design of the first T-bird was also frankly oriented), but also comfort.
In addition to air conditioning, the car of 1955 model line could flaunt seats with servo drives and automatically folding roof convertible version... (The second version was a hard-top with removable fiberglass roof).
I must say that at the dawn of the auto industry, especially in the 30s, the cars that was to include «personal luxury», produced at every turn, helped myriad koachbiledrov. But then it was a truly exclusive cars.
With the advent of the unification and the more self-supporting body, such individualism is not simply become a practical and incredibly expensive... T-bird also was not just burst, but also the mass and relatively budget machine that used a lot of components and assemblies from sedans.
Soon almost all the automakers around the world, including Europe, and even Japan, are aware of this win-win progress and begin to produce similar cars, positioned as a «personal luxury».
And they really were not thought of, not only the fuel consumption, but even space for luggage, which at gigs with them reclining in the back of the lid and does almost completely occupied the folding roof...
But in contrast to the usually austere «Grand Turismo» and the more real sports car, in the «luxury» cars, even at the very beginning we have always attended and air conditioning, and all kinds of electrical equipment. No joke, but already on the second generation of T-bird as an option offers not just elektrosidushki and «storage position» that automatically moves back when switching off the ignition in order to facilitate escape cabin! In this case we are talking about cars 1958 release!...
Most of the «personal luxury» were the coupe and convertible, but he just T-bird (or rather re marketers Ford) began diligently to change the established concepts by themselves. As already mentioned the second generation was 4-seater, and the fifth, produced in the late 60's and did and received a 4-door version of the body...
We can not say that, thanks to this segment of status cars, automakers have earned them many times more than on ordinary sedans, to which the «luxury» units usually based just for the sake of harmonization and reduce the cost of production. If the «Margin» on a normal car is measured in the hundreds of dollars they earned the image of thousands of dollars from one machine.
Unfortunately for manufacturers, but a frank growth and weight gain of luxury cars, and the same T-bird fifth generation returned to the frame structure and is the twin brother in the shop the Lincoln, while the coupe sixth generation weighed more than two tons, down the energy crisis of the 70s.
They had to adapt. But here, «luxury» T-bird (and not only them) with no luck. Before they return to standardized monocoque and a more modest size, in the late «80s, even in loving America European luxury usability came into vogue. And soon completely changed and the trend in terms of luxury in favor of the same SUV. At the end of the 20th century, this class became extinct: T-bird has ceased to be issued in 1997, and in the early 2000s disappeared another icon of luxuriousness — Cadillac Eldorado, one of which is on our Gasser and scripting engine.
A clear was an attempt to revive the Ford after five years in 2002, the legend. And became the 11th generation is not only repeated the style first, but the concept — small coupe / convertible!
Despite the seemingly prevailing at the time of retro-futuristic wave (enough to recall the New Beetle or Mini), this attempt failed. After a not very good sales, held out on the assembly line the same three years, and that the first-born, the name T-bird rested.
It's been 10 years, and „states“ (and not only them) are actively romp „reizdannye“ the Charger and Camaro, not to mention the super-successful, latest generation Corvette. „Grand Turismo“, as well as all sorts of sports cars very much alive, and all over the world, but the „personal luxury“ cars, including their progenitor T-bird, alas, still only cherish the same fate as the Phoenix bird...
Interestingly another — iconostasis Vehicles realities „borrowed“, if not specifically — expropriated, and the style and overall concept and even the name!
Not really original!
After World War II, business at Ford's situation was frankly does not matter. Her son the great founder Henry Ford, the second is realized. In the early «50s, he announced a competition for the design of low-cost small two-seater roadster prototype of the European for, simply captivated America thanks to demobilized soldiers.
The author of the machines, which in the end is known as the Vega Ford, became Vince Gardner, in his time, among others, and worked on the notorious Cord 810. The project was funded by Ford and that it subsequently gave the company the right to usurp everything that is connected with this car.
As required by the „terms of reference“ roadster based on the chassis of the British Ford Anglia, while the body of aluminum „tapped“ Emil Vidt, but from the very Cord were borrowed hiding lights.
Gardner later planned to establish production fayberglassovogo kit car, which at that time to gain momentum. Here we should recall that the first production Corvette also had not a metal, and „plastic“ body. But alas. All rights to the car belonged to the investors and Vega remained in an instance of one.
The author of the machines, which in the end is known as the Vega Ford, became Vince Gardner, in his time, among others, and worked on the notorious Cord 810. The project was funded by Ford and that it subsequently gave the company the right to usurp everything that is connected with this car.
As required by the „terms of reference“ roadster based on the chassis of the British Ford Anglia, while the body of aluminum „tapped“ Emil Vidt, but from the very Cord were borrowed hiding lights.
Gardner later planned to establish production fayberglassovogo kit car, which at that time to gain momentum. Here we should recall that the first production Corvette also had not a metal, and „plastic“ body. But alas. All rights to the car belonged to the investors and Vega remained in an instance of one.
The naked eye can see that a lot of its stylistic solutions, as well as the overall concept, which appeared soon moved on Thunderbird...
Interestingly, a few years decorating one of the venues of the Vega, still survived, and was sold at an auction for almost 400 thousand dollars collector Sema Peck, which owns it to this day in 2006...
Authorship of the T-bird is credited with the whole team, including many «executive» of the officials of the company, against which name itself is often lost stylists George Walker and Bill Boyer. That Bill led the studio to develop the final style of the car, becoming the direct author of the very first T-bird in 1955.
By the way, even the first generation, to produce three years, there has been three different designs, including a noticeable change both front and rear. For example, in 1956, the spare wheel was made out, and the next year again to «hide» in the trunk...
Transforms the front and feed, which changed the bumper and optics, but the overall concept is maintained.
Last but not least thanks to the Vega, the original purpose was achieved — to light a compact (wheel base of only 2.5 meters for a total length of less than 4.5 m) and easy convertible / hardtop, in spite of the frame structure and the metal body (from Fiber-Glass was made only removable top) weighing just over a ton with a rather powerful at the time V8, through which he developed more than 160 km per hour...
Interestingly Thunderbird and origin of the name. It, too, has been borrowed, and also a bit chaotic, as the very appearance of this machine, the final design of which he is the Henry Ford-approved second only returned from Los Angeles with the exhibition «Avtorama» in 1953, which already debuted as kontsept- car Corvette...
Initially, among the many hundreds of options, among which were assumed to be Apache (the name of an Indian tribe), Falcon (hawk), Eagle (Eagle) and even options such as the Hawaian (Hawaiian) or Thunderbolt (Thunder). We can say that the final «Gromoptitsa», namely, as translated from the Thunderbird, was a kind of «golden mean» of many of the above.
But his «fordovtsy» according to one version had to win at a certain gentleman who owned the copyright on the word, and in another version it is the name carried California Country Club, who visited Ernest Breech, who led at the time the board of directors Ford, you asked permission from its owners....
Whatever it was, but in any case we are talking about the mythical bird from the culture of North American Indians, which symbolized his huge wings and menacing head strength and power... The obvious prototype for «Gromoptitsy» was soon to become a symbol of freedom «Bald Eagle», which the superstitious Indians gave more supernatural power — in their beliefs when it flaps its wings was heard thunder...
In his first year, and later a more comfortable T-bird jealous surpassed in Corvette sales. Moreover, in 1955 the proportion was 23 to 1, with total sales of more than 16 thousand against 700 for the whole ascetic sports car with a plastic body. Actually T-bird with a more than 200-horsepower engine, «standard» was never slow, but by the third year power standard version 312-cubic V8 (5,1 liters) was adjusted to almost 250 hp
It is therefore not surprising that sales in 1957 exceeded 20 thousand...
During the three years of the first T-bird has sold nearly 55 thousand, while the last of the 11th generation, which by some estimates was included in the «Top 10 of the most shameful in the history of vehicles» in almost the same 3.5 years, was released only 68 thousands. For instance, became in the end the most popular seventh generation of the late 70's has sold nearly a million copies for the same three years...
Maybe it was the originality and simplicity of the first T-bird, whereas all subsequent generations have tried to somehow stand out and be different from the previous one, in fact does not preserve the unique and thoroughbred. At the same time, some other manufacturers of at least (and probably more) of the legendary cars like the Corvette or the Porsche 911, the decades went by evolutionary way, without succumbing to fashion trends and making extravagant stylistic turns in favor of the market...
Just look at the second generation of the T-bird, released in 1958, to see how much longer it is different from the first-born, not to mention the subsequent generations.
However, the thorny path of the heirs of the first T-bird, probably added if not glorious history, that is exactly the uniqueness of the first and eventually became virtually unique first «Gromoptitse»...
Photo hotrod.com and open source
